1998 Year of the Ocean Marine Science, Technology, and Research 



plans, and funding. Furthermore, the human resources within the ocean sciences community are 

 heavily concentrated in a limited set of job sectors. Management of the human resources will 

 require a diversification of the job opportunities and new educational initiatives to help prepare 

 students for more alternatives in employment. 



Communications. The field of oceanography is represented by well over 50 different technical 

 journals and no less than 15 professional organizations. While an isolationist approach to one's 

 own research field may have sufficed 50 years ago, the inherently interdisciplinary nature of 

 today's oceanographic issues dictates that marine researchers and educators have an 

 extraordinarily broad network for communication. 



Public Awareness. Some recent dramatic demonstrations of the lack of public scientific literacy 

 have emphasized the need to bring oceanographic research results to the forefront of general 

 visibility. The lack of attention paid to marine issues in the media is most likely attributable to a 

 lack of coordinated publicity by the ocean research and education communities; it is not for lack 

 of exciting showpieces from the science and technology being performed in the ocean. 



CONCLUSIONS 



From such prestigious scientific bodies as the National Academy of Sciences and its 

 many associated Boards, from well supported needs statements of the mission oriented federal 

 agencies, and from a variety of highly respected scientific organizations, the question of "what to 

 research" in the areas of ocean science and technology is outlined quite well. The International 

 Year of the Ocean provides opportunities to highlight ways that new and enlightened 

 partnerships can be established to provide the bonding agents needed to pull the currently 

 disparate parts of the nation's oceanographic enterprise together. 



REFERENCES 



Consortium for Oceanographic Research & Education, Oceans 2000, Bridging the Millenia. 

 1996, Washington, D.C. 



National Academy of Sciences. 1995. Allocating Federal Funds for Science and Technology. 

 ISBN 0-309-05347-1. National Academy Press. Washington, D.C. 



National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1995. NOAA Strategic Plan: A Vision for 

 2005. Washington, D.C. 



National Research Council Committee on Biological Diversity in Marine Systems, 1995. 

 Understanding Marine Biodiversity. ISBN 0-309-05225-4. National Academy Press. 

 Washington, D.C. 



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